Porridge has become an absolute breakfast classic. It goes well with almost any diet, as the basis is very simple and you can adapt the porridge to your respective diet plan. But is porridge also suitable for people who want or need to reduce gluten in their diet?
In this post, we will tell you whether porridge is gluten-free or how you can tell if your porridge is gluten-free. In addition, we will briefly discuss why it makes sense to occasionally have a gluten-free breakfast , even if you can tolerate gluten in principle.
What is gluten?
If you still don't know exactly what gluten is, here is the most important information for you: Gluten, also known as gluten protein, is a storage protein that is found in many cereals such as wheat, barley and rye.
Thanks to its binding and stabilizing properties, this adhesive protein is popular in the food industry as an excipient that gives the products a desirable consistency.
Recipe: Bircher buffer
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 250 g stoppers
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 200 g Verival Bircher Porridge
- 50 g grated hazelnuts
- 600 g apples
- Oil
- Cinnamon, fruit, yoghurt, applesauce of your choice
Preparation
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Beat the eggs, potatoes, and honey until creamy.
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Stir in Bircher porridge and hazelnuts.
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Let the dough steep for 20 minutes.
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Grate and mix apples.
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Shape the buffer and fry in oil.
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Serve the buffer with cinnamon, fruit, yoghurt, or applesauce.
Nutritional values
Gluten is not bad per se, but more and more people are reducing their consumption of gluten-containing products. Especially within the last few years, the trend has developed to increasingly replace gluten-containing foods with gluten-free alternatives. But what exactly is gluten and does it make sense to eat a low-gluten diet?
Gluten intolerance – trend or actual danger?
The proportion of the population with gluten intolerance is relatively small. In Germany, less than one percent of the population is affected. However, those who are affected by this must be particularly careful, as even small amounts can cause serious problems. If an intolerance is suspected, an expert should therefore always be consulted.
However, the majority of people tolerate gluten-containing foods without any problems. However, it is still advisable to reduce consumption a bit, as gluten can be found almost everywhere, especially in processed foods. If you want to be as versatile as possible , it is advisable to occasionally use gluten-free products to provide your body with other nutrients.
However, it should be emphasized that there are increasing reports of gluten sensitivity (actually wheat sensitivity), in which those affected do not experience any serious problems, but notice minor symptoms. This can range from a foggy feeling to mild abdominal pain.
However, it is rarely actually an intolerance, which is why a complete renunciation is neither necessary nor useful. Thus, here again, the most varied food possible is the means of choice.
Where is gluten in it?
As we have now heard, it makes sense to occasionally resort to gluten-free products. However, this raises the question of which foods contain gluten at all.
Basically, gluten is contained in all products that are based on cereal products such as wheat , rye or spelt. Thus, the list ranges from cereals to bread to sweets such as cakes. Even in ice cream, sausages and various ready meals, this glue protein is included.
How do I recognize gluten-containing products?
Gluten-free products are usually also declared as such – unless they are foods that are naturally gluten-free. They are usually clearly recognizable as a symbol (seal) or in writing on the packaging.
Products that are basically gluten-free, but could have come into contact with gluten-containing products in the manufacturing process , often state that traces may be contained . However, this only serves as a safeguard on the part of the manufacturers and is usually safe even for people affected by celiac disease (gluten intolerance). However, if you don't want to risk anything, you should keep your hands off it, even if the danger is very low.
If a product contains gluten-containing ingredients , this can be seen by a label on the back of the package. In most cases, the respective gluten-containing ingredients are shown in bold .
This makes it clear to everyone whether they are gluten-containing or gluten-free products. Based on this, you can now analyze the products and occasionally replace gluten-containing products with alternatives if you want.
Is porridge now gluten-free?
But what do these findings mean for the breakfast classic Porridge ? The main ingredient of porridge is usually oats in the form of oatmeal or oatmeal. The other ingredients vary depending on the porridge, but these are usually gluten-free ingredients such as dried fruit, salt or any sweeteners.
Oats are naturally low in gluten . In addition, however, it may be that the oats are often "contaminated" during the harvesting and production process. This means that the oats come into contact with other gluten-containing foods during the process and thus have a higher gluten content.
In the case of "gluten-free" declared oats , starting with cultivation, where it must be ensured that no other cereals grow in the field, care is taken to ensure that the oats do not come into contact with gluten-containing cereals in any production step through harvesting, storage and processing into the finished product. Elaborate cleaning processes of the machines in the harvesting and processing processes are necessary. This is ensured by strict guidelines and ensures that this oat is completely gluten-free and can therefore also be enjoyed by those with celiac disease. Gluten-free products are clearly marked with the symbol of the crossed-out ear.
Faz it
Porridge is therefore not automatically completely gluten-free, as the oats contained therein may have been "contaminated" with gluten-containing products. If you want to be sure, you should therefore make sure that the respective product is declared gluten-free.
This is usually already clearly visible on the package, either as a symbol or as a font. In addition, it is possible to filter for gluten-free products in our Verival shop. This means that you have all available products at a glance and no longer have to deal with the topic.
